SNP under fire for no plan to mark Reformation

Published on Wednesday 15 July 2009 22:12

THE SNP has been accused of trying to politicise history after the Scottish Government said it had no plans to mark the 450th anniversary of the Reformation next year.

The formal historical date for the Reformation in Scotland was 5 August 1560, the day the old Scottish Parliament recognised it in an act. SNP ministers have been accused of not wanting to mark the Reformation's 450th anniversary because it is associated in many minds with paving the way to the Union.

Its most prominent figure, John Knox, was also a known Anglophile, and the victory of the Protestants over the Catholics is often interpreted as Scotland choosing England over France.

Conservative Scottish deputy leader Murdo Fraser, who was originally told that the Scottish Government would not mark the anniversary, accused the SNP of trying to "politicise history".

He was backed by Labour MSP Michael McMahon, a prominent Scottish Catholic.

"The SNP want to block this significant event out simply because it does not fit in with their version of history," he said.

But a spokesman for the First Minister accused Mr Fraser of having "very strange ideas about religion and politics".

"It is laughable to apply a single political interpretation to the Reformation, which in any event was a process," he said. "Independence is supported by people of all faiths and none in Scotland, which is exactly as it should be."